The Mistletoe Promise
by lxk
Summary: Ron's missing. Kim's barely holding on. Is he dead? Kidnapped? Angry? And what happens when a certain young man on a motorcycle enters the picture? Alt-STD. Rated M for things coming up.
1. Loss

_**Author's note: Well, I'm back after a break. I'm not going back to "Commencement" just yet though (seem to be a little stuck on that story). Instead, I bring you this story, and I hope you'll like it. It's going to have more chapters, don't worry.**_

_**As always, comments on language and grammar are most welcome, since... Say it with me... English is not my first language.**_

_**And now... In medias res!**_

**The Mistletoe Promise**

The cheerleading practice had come to an early end this Wednesday. Marcella had sprained her ankle when she did a cartwheel, and rather than having one of the other girls take her place in the rest of the routines, Kim had decided to call it a day.

Kim stood in the showers alone, letting the warm water calm her down. Bonnie had questioned her decision to end the training, and had been pretty vocal about it. Kim was almost at the point where it would have come to blows, and she knew she was overreacting. If only Ron had...

She bit her lip. Don't go there, she thought. Don't go from anger to sorrow this fast. You'll get emotional whiplash.

She stepped out of the showers and wrapped a towel around herself. As she stepped into the locker room, she could hear the other girls talking, rather muted for a change. Kim decided not to step into their discussion. Her mood lately had been noticed by practically the entire school, and everywhere she went people stopped their conversations as soon as the saw her coming. Afraid that she would be... angry? Sad?

"Jason Morgan...the dance" Kim could make out Tara's voice. Ah, Kim thought. The Junior Prom. She knew she had made the right decision to stay out of this.

"...good choice. At least...jock, like Brick", Bonnie spoke. Typical. Bragging about Brick again, Bonnie?

"...on again?...-venteenth time's the charm", Hope exclaimed. The other cheerleaders chuckled. Kim could practically hear Bonnie's face redden. There was a silence for a moment.

"Think Kim's... a date?" Tara said. Kim's eyes darted. They... they were talking about her and... getting a date for the prom? At a time like this? What the hell where they thinking?

"Not that I've heard...you know she'd.go with" Jessica said. Another silence. They... they weren't... They weren't talking about him, were they? Kim's anger started to flare up again.

"Ron! That loser would..." Bonnie said, a bit louder. Last... damned... straw. Kim got up and turned the corner she'd been hiding behind.

"What... did you say about Ron, Bonnie?" Kim said, staring angrily at the team, who turned their heads in her direction, almost shocked to learn that she had been listening.

"Uh... I didn't... I didn't say anything about him, K", Bonnie responded. Kim's angry eyes on her made her choose her wording carefully. No talking about losers now.

"I heard you, Bonnie!" Kim yelled, punctuating her statement by punching the locker next to her. The other girls jumped. "You called him a loser", she concluded.

Tara looked over to Jessica, who had finished changing into her normal clothes. She nodded at her, and Jessica slowly backed up towards the exit.

"Kim, she didn't say anything, she said-" Tara began as soon as Jessica had exited. As she spoke, she walked towards Kim, who still had her eyes fixed on Bonnie.

"I said I heard her, Tara! Why are you defending her?!" Tara wasn't exactly happy that Kim's anger had somewhat shifted towards her, but it was better than having all of it directed at Bonnie if it came to that.

"Ma...Maybe you misinterpreted", Tara tried. She'd made her way to Kim now. She looked back. Damn it, Bonnie, get out of here, she wanted to scream as she saw that Bonnie was almost petrified.

"Get real! She's had it out for him for years! You know that!" Kim yelled at Tara, then looked back at Bonnie and spoke again, this time with a an eerily calm voice."But to talk about him like that now... I never thought you had it in you, B."

"I... I really wasn't... " Bonnie stammered. Kim took a step forward. Then another.

Not good, Tara though. She took a deep breath, trying to figure out what to do.. The only thing she could come up with was to play for time. This was probably not a smart move, she thought as she stepped out in front of Kim. As she saw the anger in Kim's eyes, she swallowed audibly.

"Get... Away." Kim said, with a voice filled of seething rage.

"Kim, you need to calm down, " Tara tried, but was interrupted when Kim edged in closer to her.

"I said..."

Suddenly Kim felt several hands grabbing her from behind. Without her realizing it, the rest of the squad had somehow gotten behind her and was now restraining her quite firmly. She screamed as she lunged towards Tara, the closest of her current antagonists, but the girls held her back.

If Kim hadn't been as angry as she was, she would have known to try to get out of their hold, but right now, the only thing she could think of was to get to Bonnie and Tara. Bitches! Sluts! Whores! She wasn't sure if she'd actually yelled those insults or just thought them. Tara quickly moved away towards the door, grabbing Bonnie along on the way. They left in a hurry while Kim was still trying to get free.

Suddenly Kim heard a new voice beside her.

"Shhhh... Come on, Kim, they're gone now, calm down." Kim looked to her right and saw Monique's face. Of course. That's why Jessica had left, to go get Monique.

"Mon, they... She said that..." Kim sputtered out, still angry.

"I know, I know, but they left. They ran so fast I don't even think you could catch them, girlfriend. And you need to calm down BSGH." The abbreviation stumped Kim. "Before someone gets hurt", Monique explained.

With Monique's words, Kim suddenly realized what she was doing. She was going to... She had almost attacked them! She looked behind her and saw Hope and Marcella holding on to her arms, while Crystal and Liz were holding on to her legs. Kim took a deep breath.

"I... I just... They were talking about him and I..." As she spoke, tears formed in her eyes. Monique glanced at the cheerleaders, who slowly released their grip and backed away.

"I know, girl."

"I mean... he's gone and they can't even speak about him without insulting him", Kim continued as the tears started to fall down her cheeks. Monique wrapped her up in a big hug as Kim's words were replaced by sobbing. For a couple of minutes, they just stood there, while Kim cried out on Monique's shoulder and Monique ran her hand up and down Kim's back, holding back her own tears. Finally, Monique spoke again.

"I think we need to get you home now. Get you some sleep and some Rufushine." Kim nodded, and they exited the locker room. They walked home in morose silence. Monique looked at Kim, who stared blankly in front of her. Monique knew the look. She wasn't out of it, she was listening. Hoping to hear the whirring sound of Ron's pathetically slow scooter, or a faint 'Booyah' in the wind. None came.

They reached the Possible residence and made their way up to Kim's room. As they entered, Kim was practically assaulted by a flying naked mole rat, who landed on her shoulder and caught her neck in a big embrace.

"Hnh hnh! Hi Kim!" Rufus exclaimed Kim couldn't help but smile as she gave him a pat on the head. The three of them sat down on Kim's bed.

"Kim... Jessica explained what happened. Bonnie wasn't talking about Ron", Monique said after a few minutes. Kim's face got a sour look.

"I heard them, Monique. Sure, I didn't hear everything but I heard her calling him a loser", she responded. Rufus, now resting in her lap, patted her hands. "There, there", he said with a sad look.

"Well, she said that..."

"_You're on again? You're thinking seventeenth time's the charm?", Hope exclaimed. The other cheerleaders chuckled. Bonnie's eyes narrowed. She knew that she and Brick were reaching the point where they were becoming cliché, but she couldn't help it. For all Brick's stupidity, she couldn't resist him when she saw him glisten. Damn it, now she was blushing too. _

_The room fell silent for a minute. As Bonnie looked at the girls, she knew what they were thinking. The whole school couldn't help but thinking about Kim right now that Ron was gone. She wasn't yet back to any semblance of normality, even though four weeks had gone by. The bullies in D-hall had learned that just last Friday when they had made a remark and Kim had walked away only after one of the bullies of them sported a black eye and the other a brand new gap in his teeth._

"_Think Kim's gonna get a date?" Tara said. They weren't exactly hoping for it, but if it could provide a distraction for her... it might be good._

"_Not that I've heard. But I've been thinking, you know she'd go with Josh Mankey if he asked", Jessica said. Another silence. Bonnie stared at Jessica and shook her head. At best, Kim would be reminded of why they didn't work out in the first place, at worst she'd feel like she was somehow betraying Ron._

"_Think that's a good idea?" Bonnie said softly "Wrong! That loser would..." Bonnie said, a bit louder. She didn't get any further._

Kim sighed as she heard Monique's retelling. She leaned back and covered her face in shame. She had almost attacked them over that? She'd almost attacked them period? After that fight she had with the bullies she was already walking a thin line! If it hadn't been for the witnesses saying they'd heard them joking about Ron's disappearance, she would probably be facing suspension at the least. As it were, she'd gotten away with a stern look from Mr. Barkin and a serious conversation with her parents about therapy.

Her thoughts were derailed as the kimmunicator chirped. Monique grabbed it out of Kim's bag before Kim could get to it.

"I'll get that", she said. "I asked Wade to stream the Clique Report. I'll just tell him to record it." She stepped out of the room.

"Go, Wade" she said. Wade seemed surprised at seeing Monique instead of Kim, but quickly coped.

"Oh... Hey Mon. I... I was just checking in", he responded.

"Just checking in? You know I can see your eyes darting, right?" Monique said as she smirked.

"Ok, ok", Wade caved. "There's been a break in at-"

"A break in?" Monique interrupted him. "You know what we said, Wade, if it isn't an emergency or a super villain, they can call someone else." Wade avoided her stern gaze.

"Yeah, well, Mr. Nakasumi's an old friend and... I... I was thinking she could go back to Yamanouchi if she was in Japan anyway... and she'd get something to focus on."

Monique sighed. Ever since Ron had vanished, she, along with Kim's parents and Wade, had decided to lessen her mission time without Kim's knowledge. In the four weeks that had gone by, she had only gone out on three missions that couldn't be turned down. On the first one Wade had sent his Wadebot along, but after it had accidentally gotten destroyed, Felix had tagged along instead. Even though he wasn't as good as Ron, he was a better support than Monique or Wade would be with all the gadgets his wheelchair provided.

"Alright, I see your point, but she almost beat up Bonnie and Tara today. She needs to rest."

"Gotcha", Wade replied. Somehow the thought of Kim getting into a fight with Bonnie wasn't all that surprising to him. "Call me if you need anything." With that, the kimmunicator turned back to sleep mode.

Monique walked back into Kim's room. Kim had lain down on the bed and promptly fallen asleep. Rufus lay next to her on the pillow. Monique sighed as she pulled the cover over Kim and sat down next to her. She stroked a few stray hairs out of the sleeping redhead's face.

"Damn it, Ron. Where are you?"

_Four weeks ago_

_The ride back from DNAmy's jungle lair was filled with a conversation that Ron had longed to have with Kim. _

_He had blushed when she had chuckled as he talked about his... fair to moderate success at the ninja training at Yamanouchi. He had been very happy when she saw her face light up with glee and pride as he explained how he had defeated Monkey Fist and Fukushima. He avoided looking at her when he talked about his... friendship with Yori._

_As he ran out of topics and she ran out of questions... At least questions she could ask him without blushing, they had fallen silent for a few minutes before Ron looked at her._

"_KP... I was just wondering... How were you able to find me and Yori in Arizona?" Kim squirmed. This was a topic she wasn't really willing to talk about._

"_Well... You know Wade... He's good at tracking stuff. He caught you on the flight record on the way down and... yeah." Ron frowned at her words._

"_But we catched a secret ninja helicopter to Arizona, he couldn't have tracked that?" The cogs started turning in Ron's head. "You... you didn't... have me chipped or something, did you?"_

_Kim winced. Yeah, this was going to be embarrassing. But it would be better if she just came clean about it, she thought._

"_Ron... I'm sorry we didn't tell you this before, but..."_

"_You DID have me chipped? Kim, that is seriously not chauncey!" Ron looked at her with a look of disappointment and slight anger._

"_I know, I know", Kim responded. "I mean, we weren't spying on you or anything."_

"_I know you didn't do that, KP, but why didn't you tell me?" Ron asked, still with that look on his face. Kim looked away._

"_I didn't know that Wade had you chipped at first. He only told me when Drakken kidnapped you that time you were disguised as my dad. He... he said that it was better if you didn't know. If you had been kidnapped and they had somehow gotten you to talk about the chip... Well, they might decide to hurt you... or worse." Ron caught up with the reasoning. He sat silent for a while._

"_How often have you used it?" He asked after gathering his thoughts._

"_Only when we really couldn't find you and didn't have any other ways. I mean... sometimes I even forgot it was there."_

_That was true. She remembered how she had almost broken down that Christmas when Ron went missing after going to confront Drakken. If either her and Wade had thought of the chip... well, honestly, it wouldn't have been so gut-wrenching. On the other hand, if they had, it probably wouldn't have ended up one of the best Christmases ever. She tried not to blush when she remembered that moment under the mistletoe... Well, parsley, really._

"_Are you chipped?" Ron asked, bringing her out of her reverie._

"_No, Wade can usually track me with through the kimmunicator", Kim replied. She knew it was true too, she had undergone a full body scan to make sure of that._

"_Why didn't you just get me a kimmunicator, then? Come to think of it, why don't I have a kimmunicator?" Ron remarked._

"_Wade didn't think you needed one. I mean, you hang with me all the time anyway, and when you're not he can reach you through the phone or... the TV or something. And, honestly, giving you a direct , easily concealed contact with a super genius at all times would probably not help that temptation to cheat that you seem to have trouble fighting sometimes." Ron smirked ad his best friend's words. Yeah, it was probably true, he thought._

"_Ok, KP, but this chip has to go. Seriously."_

"_Yeah, I'll get mom to remove it. And I'm sure Wade can get you something else. Something voluntary." Kim responded._

_She was right. Two days later, Wade had manufactured a rather stylish wrist watch that had a tracker chip built in. He hadn't included any other gadgets, knowing Ron's predilection for destruction. Kim's mom had removed the chip from his neck the same day._

_Two days after that, Ron was gone. He had disappeared in the middle of the night, bringing only his mission clothes. No sign of a struggle or a break in. The watch still on his nightstand, Rufus sleeping in his tiny bed. No one had seen when or how he had left. No one knew why. And no one had heard from him since._


	2. Lunch

The next day, Kim was feeling lower than she had in a long time. She had apologized to Bonnie, Tara and the rest of the squad, but she still felt bad about it. Sure, they had accepted her apology without any comments, but Kim didn't feel as if the matter had been closed just yet. She knew Bonnie wanted to really chew her out, and it must have taken a superhuman effort to just let it go with a "Just don't do it again, K."

When she had beat up the bullies, she felt... justified. Those guys had been on Ron like a bad rash for a long time, and while she knew it would be better if Ron stood up to them himself, she often wanted to do it for him. Sure, she'd given them a lesson when she was in Ron's body, but after a few months they were right back again. Beating them up was no different from throwing an extra punch to the face of some henchman that laughed at Ron on any old mission.

But yesterday she almost beat up people she thought of as friends. All because her imagination and anger got the better of her. She winced at the thought of what would have happened if they hadn't been able to stop her. Or what would have happened if it had been some else, like Monique or Felix or her family. Would she have been as out of control if it had been anyone really close to her?

To top it all off, she had heard on the news about a break in at the headquarters of Nakasumi Toys. She had her suspicions about the low number of missions lately, and was starting to think that maybe Wade and her parents were holding her back. This practically confirmed that they were. She was pretty sure Mr. Nakasumi would have asked for her help, and even if he hadn't, Wade would have suggested it. But she had heard nothing.

She sighed. Ironic. She had fought hard against Team Impossible when they had started to edge her out and now her friends were holding her back? So not ok, but at the moment, she didn't have it in her to start arguing about it.

The day trudged on until lunch. Kim managed to push her thoughts away during the classes but now they were returning as she sat next to Monique at their usual table. Monique was trying to get Kim to talk about anything, but Kim wasn't in the mood.

"Ohh, check that out!" Monique suddenly exclaimed. Kim followed Monique's gaze over to the lunch queue. She seemed to be looking at a dark-haired boy, who was staring at the food in disbelief. Kim hadn't seen him before. She had to admit, he didn't look bad. At all.

"Thinking about the prom, are we, Mon?" Kim asked. Monique smiled. Finally a response.

"Nah, not gonna play into that whole "sends a message about who you are"-thing. I'm thinking more along the lines of a quiet restaurant and a good movie." Monique grinned.

"You don't even know who he is", Kim replied.

"That can change... and fast", Monique said, and nodded towards him again. Kim looked over and saw him looking their way. When he saw both Kim and Monique looking his way, he smiled and started to walk towards them.

"Excuse me, is this seat taken?" He asked as he he approached their table. Kim looked over at the grinning Monique.

"Doesn't look like it", Monique responded. "Why don't we make sure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands? Sit.." The boy immediately took the seat right next to Monique. At least he didn't take Ron's chair, Kim thought.

"I haven't seen you here before. You new?" Monique asked. The boy nodded.

"Yeah, technically I start next fall, but I wanted to check out the new school, get to know some people you know?" The boy responded, then caught himself. "I'm Eric, by the way", he said and extended his right hand.

"I'm Monique, and this is Kim", Monique said as she shook his hand. Kim didn't offer her hand, instead merely nodding in his direction. Eric, got a look of recognition in his face. Her it comes, Kim thought.

"Wait... You're Kim Possible, aren't you?" He asked. Kim smiled brief, noncommittal smile.

"Guilty as charged", she said, looking away.

"Man, this is so cool!" Eric exclaimed. "I heard you were a student here! Didn't expect to meet you, though." Well, at least it was a positive reaction, Kim thought.

"Yeah, she's our resident heroine. But back on topic, tell us about yourself", Monique said, drawing the attention away from Kim as she saw her reaction.

"Uh.. nothing much too say", Eric replied. "I move around a lot, my dad's in the military. We usually don't spend much time in one place. I am gonna be a Senior next year, I graduated my Junior year a few weeks ahead of time since we had to move here... Are you gonna be Seniors next year, or..?"

"Yeah, and I can already say it's gonna be a spectacular year", Monique said as she grinned. Eric smiled at her. He glanced back at Kim.

"Hey, doesn't that guy who goes on missions with you go to this school too? I really dig that naked mole rat he's got."

Kim clenched her teeth and closed her eyes. She really didn't want to go into this right now. Instead, she got up from the table.

"Excuse me, I think I'm done here", she said, grabbing her tray and walked away. Eric stared after her with a concerned look.

"Did... did I say something wrong?" He said, looking back at Monique, who sighed.

"Not your fault", he replied. "Ron's... been missing for the last four weeks. We don't know where is is or even if he's ok. It's a... sore spot, too say the least." Eric held his hand over his mouth as he listened to Monique's explanation.

"Oh... oh God, I'm sorry, I didn't know", he said, a bit shocked.

"Like I said, not your fault, don't worry about it. She'll come around", Monique said. They finished their lunch and left the cafeteria shortly afterwards.

As school ended, Kim was elated that she had gone through the daily motions without another meltdown. She felt a little bad for being curt with Eric, but at least she hadn't yelled at him or anything. Her thoughts were interrupted, though, when she saw Eric approach her as she was closing her locker.

"I.. Monique explained everything. I'm sorry if I-" Kim interrupted his apology.

"Don't worry about it. It's just... I'm not handling it all that well sometimes", she said. He looked at her with a sympathetic face.

"It'll get better. Trust me", he said. Kim frowned at his words.

"How would you know", she asked, a bit miffed. She was tired of hearing that phrase by now. Eric sighed.

"Personal experience. My sister... ran away two years ago." Kim's face immediately softened.

"Oh... Oh.. I.. I'm sorry, I didn't..." She stammered.

"It's ok. You couldn't have known", Eric replied.

"Did... did you find her?" Kim asked after a short pause.

"Yeah, we did. She was gone six months before the police found her on Skid Row in Go City. She's ok now, we're all ok now, but... it wasn't a funny six months", Eric said. They stood in silence for a while.

"So... does it really get better?" Kim finally managed to ask. Eric sighed.

"Not really. But you get used to it and you'll learn how to handle it", he admitted. Kim sighed.

"Can't imagine ever getting used to it", she said. She took a deep breath. She really didn't want to lose it in front of this guy.

"Neither did I. But that's the way it goes. Anyway, I'm sure you'll find him. I mean.. what's that phrase on your web page? 'I can do anything'?" Kim frowned at his words. She had tried so hard for the last four weeks, but had nothing to show for it yet. Eric saw her discomfort and continued.

"Anyway, I got to be going. But... If... if you ever want to talk... you know... Don't hesitate to call." He fished out a piece of paper, wrote down his phone number and handed it to her. She took it, somewhat hesitant. Not sure how to respond, Kim just said a quick "Please and thank you. See ya later" as she walked away.

A few hours later, Kim lay down on her bed. She'd spent some time studying and was now watching Rufus devour some leftover nacos. Her mind wandered back to what Eric had said. She can do anything... Except finding her friend, it seemed.

_Three weeks ago._

"_Uhh.. Dash? Could I talk to you for a second?" Kim asked softly. Felix, Rufus and Crash had gone to the counter for a new set of nacos and Burn had left as soon as he had heard of her father's sitch. Dash fixed his eyes on her._

"_Sure, Ms. Possible. What is it?" His dark voice seemed a bit more friendly now that they had settled their differences._

"_Well... I was wondering, uhm... Do you do... a lot of... missing persons cases?" Dash seemed to know what she was talking about, not surprisingly._

"_We usually don't do investigative work, so I can't say that I'm an expert. You were thinking about your partner?" Kim nodded at his question, but stayed silent. Dash took a breath._

"_I'm assuming you've checked out his enemies?" He asked. Kim nodded._

_She had. But no one seemed to have anything to do with it. Monkey Fist, the most likely to kidnap Ron, was still stuck with DNAmy in the jungle. Drakken and Shego had just been busted by Team Impossible, and Kim had taken the time to investigate their last lair while she had the chance. She'd come up short. Shego even looked surprised at the implication. Sure, they had escaped just two days later, but Kim was fairly confident that they didn't have anything to do with it._

_After that, it got more strained. Adrena Lynn, Gill and Fukushima, who had real grudges, were in prison. Señor Senior, Sr had some respect for Ron, but holding someone kidnapped and not asking for ransom wasn't his style. Killigan, Motor Ed and Dementor had alibis._

"_It is possible that he hasn't been kidnapped, you know", Dash said. She didn't want to think that he had run away, but she knew Dash was just trying to help. "Have you talked to his friends and allies?"_

_Of course, Kim had done that too. Everyone of her contacts had been asked to keep an eye out for Ron, but no one had seen him. Not even Global Justice had any leads. She didn't think that anyone of them wouldn't tell her if he'd contacted them, most of them viewed him with the same skepticism as the rest of the world. Except... _

"_Have you ever heard of... someone being forced into service? I mean... for the good guys?" Kim asked. Dash frowned._

"_It's not common... Usually that kind of force are about forcing kids to fight in wars, like in Sudan and Rwanda and the like. But if someone, even on the side of the angels, thought that it was an opportunity they couldn't miss... I wouldn't be surprised. He is some sort of master of monkey kung fu, right?" Dash looked inquisitively at her. Kim's visage darkened._

But even Dash's help hadn't done much for her in the end, she thought as she lay on the bed, remembering. Instead, she had almost made the biggest mistake of her life.

_Kim moved silently up the mountain. She had ditched her usual mission clothes for a real ninja outfit for this mission, which could very well be the most dangerous mission she'd ever do. Infiltrating a secret ninja school... Not the same as jumping through a vent and crawling through air ducts._

_She was also alone in this. Felix was good, but he wasn't up to Ron's level, and even Ron would have problems with this. Rufus had been pretty vocal about her being wrong, so she had just left him behind. _

_As she neared the school, she decided against going straight through the huge gate. Instead, she climbed the wall of the nearest house, a hard feat without her grappler gun. She reached the roof and proceeded to jump across to the next building, making her way towards the largest building. She made it as far as she could, then silently made her way to the ground. She would have to cross the yard to get to it. This was the most dangerous part._

_She had made it half way when she heard a wind chime make a slight sound. Odd, she thought, she didn't even feel a breeze..._

_She turned around and was shocked at the sight. At least twenty ninjas had silently appeared behind her. She turned around again and saw twenty more ninjas ahead of her, jumping in from all sides and directions. Her eyes narrowed and she frowned beneath her mask. This was not going to be easy._

_She made a break for it and ran towards the large building. She knew she wouldn't stand a chance against all of them, better to try to try to get past them. She duck several punches and kicks, and had only a few yards to go when a kick finally connected with her back, sending her flying to the ground. Within a second, she was held in place by several ninjas, who wouldn't give her an inch to work with. She stared ahead, as she saw Sensei walking out of the building. His face was calm, but there was a look in his eyes she hadn't seen before. Granted, she had never seen how he looked when his school was invaded._

"_I must warn you", Sensei said with a stern tone, "that we punish those who invade and attack our school severely. However, the punishment for lying is much worse. So I advise you to answer truthfully when I ask you why you have foolishly tried to take us by surprise." Kim stared back at him._

"_Where's Ron?" She asked defiantly. Sensei raised his eyebrows in confusion. He looked over to the ninja next to him and nodded. The ninja walked over to Kim, grabbed the mask and pulled it off. The ninja gasped when she saw Kim's face, and Sensei frowned. He nodded again, and the ninjas pinning Kim down let her go at once. Slowly, Kim stood. Sensei gazed around the yard._

"_Those of you on guard, return to your station. Those of you not, return to your rooms", he said, and in just a few seconds the yard was as empty as it had been. Only Kim, Sensei and the ninja Sensei had ordered to unmask Kim remained, but Kim was sure that they were still being watched._

"_Possible-San, why do you come to us in the middle of the night to inquire about Stoppable-San?" This was not what Kim had expected. She didn't think that they would admit he was here, but their confusion seemed genuine._

"_I... I thought he was here?" She responded. Sensei looked over to the ninja, who promptly removed the mask she was wearing. As Kim expected, it was Yori who stared back at her._

"_Why would he be here at Yamanouchi, Possible-San? And why did you not simply contact us instead of infiltrating us?" The young ninja's tone of voice almost approached anger as she spoke._

"_Yori!" Would you please go boil some tea for us, I wish to speak to Possible-San alone", Sensei spoke. Yori bowed her head, uttered a quick "Hai, Sensei", before leaving them._

_Kim and Sensei walked into a small pagoda next to the main building. Sensei motioned for her to sit down on a pillow on the floor. After a while, Yori arrived with the tea and left just as promptly. Sensei sipped the tea before looking at Kim again._

"_Possible-San. What is the reason for your visit?" He asked, his tone now kinder and more collected than before. Kim proceeded to tell him about Ron's disappearance, how she had searched for him and her decision to search through Yamanouchi, believing that he had been taken there to complete his ninja training. Sensei frowned._

"_You know of this school, Possible-San. If Stoppable-San had returned to us, we would not force him to keep his return a secret to his family or friends.. Nor would we take him by force", he said. Kim hadn't implied that he'd been taken by force, but Sensei knew it had to be on her mind. Kim's posture softened._

"_I... I didn't want to believe it, but... But I'm just... I don't know what to do anymore, Sensei. I've tried everything I can think of and I still can't find him!" Kim looked down on the table. She hadn't touched her tea yet, and wasn't in the mood to do so. Sensei pondered._

"_If you so wish, I could attempt to find him," he said, finally. Kim looked up. How would..._

"_You... You mean... that ghost thing you do?" A new hope was born in her. Sensei nodded. Kim nodded fervently in return. _

_Sensei assumed the lotus position. Kim watched him silently. After a few minutes, he opened his eyes again. He looked dejected._

"_It appears that I can not find Stoppable-San. I apologize for my failure, Possible-San." Kim lowered her head. So close... Tears were forming now. She looked back up._

"_What does that mean, Sensei?" She asked, trying to regain her composure._

"_There are ways to foil astral detection", Sensei answered. "Specific meditative techniques, unconsciousness, certain drugs, certain scientific apparatus... As well as the fact that he possesses the mystical monkey power, which could conceivable make his mind look more like a monkey than human to me, if he so wished and knew how to do it." Square one, Kim thought. Either he'd been kidnapped or he didn't want to be found. He took a deep breath. There was still one possibility she didn't want to think of._

"_Sensei...could... if he... if he was... dead... would you know?" Sensei looked away, pondered his answer for a while, then looked back._

"_If Stoppable-San had perished... the results of my search would be the same as any of these other methods to foil detection", he spoke. "However... he is a monkey master. I could not imagine that his death would not be noticed by me." Kim breathed a sigh of relief. Thank God for the monkey powers, she thought. Sensei finished his tea, which had almost gone cold. He looked back at her._

"_Do you wish to stay here for the night, Possible-San? It is a long walk down the mountain."_

"_I... I think I've used up your hospitality, really. I am so sorry for that, by the way", Kim said and bowed her head. Sensei returned the bow._

"_Think nothing of it, Possible-San. I would not expect you to do anything less if you believed he was in danger." Sensei got up, and they walked out of the pagoda. Kim decided to spend the night, although she did not get much sleep. The next day she returned to Middleton, even more sad than when she had left._

Kim almost started to cry when she remembered her visit to Yamanouchi. Rufus was lying next to her, patting her right hand , trying to soothe her. She returned the favor.  
"And this is supposed to get easier?" She muttered.

"Dunno. Try?" Rufus responded. Kim looked at him. Rufus had been sad the last few weeks too, but he was always by her side when she needed some help.

"I guess... But how?" she asked. Rufus shrugged.

"Talk?" he tried. Kim winced. Everyone wanted her to talk about it, but she didn't feel like they could help. They were dealing with their own grief, just like she was. Even her father had chewed out the tweebs when they had made a comment on Ron's disappearance, and Kim had the feeling it wasn't just for her benefit that he had done so.

Therapists was out of the questions. She had tried an appointment, but when the discussion shifted to why she was doing missions at all, she felt uncomfortable. She wanted help, not end up as a psychological study on the effects of heroics or something.

She sat up. Why not, she thought, as she reached for the phone and dialed.

"Hi, Eric... It's... It's Kim Possible... You said that I could talk to you?"


End file.
